Golf practice target



May 4, 1954 T. D. CAMPBELL GOLF PRACTICE TARGET Filed Feb 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. an MA GED. can/ am y 4, 1954 T. D. CAMPBELL 2,677,547

GOLF PRACTICE TARGET Filed Feb. 5, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 734 L M1462 OIWBELL A TTGF/VE Y Patented May 4, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Talmage D. Campbell, Ocala, Fla.

Application February 5, 1952, Serial No. 269,990

1 1- Claim;

JFhis invention relates to game apparatuses and more particularly to a back: yard golf it being one object of the invention to provide a game apparatus consisting of elements which ay be placed flat upon the ground a suitable a. stance apart and constitute a target and a driving mat and tee from which golf balls are driven towards the target by use of conventional golf clubs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a target consisting of flat companion strips of appreciably greater width than thickness which cooperate with each other to form an annular target which rests flat upon the ground, the strips being so connected with each other that they may be folded one against another into stacked relation to each other and the target thus reduced to such dimensions that the folded target the driving mat may be packed in a small pvckage together with a number of balls when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide" a game apparatus with which golf balls of a conventicnal practice type be used or with rich golf balls of the type used. for a regular construction, one embodiment of the invention l ing illustrated in the accompanying drawings herein? Figure l is a top plan View showing companion driving mats and targets in position for use by four players.

Figure 2 is a side View of one target andldriving mat and diagrammatically showing the manner in which a ball is driven from the mat to the target.

Figure 3 is a top plan View showing the driving rnat upon an enlarged scale.

Figure 4. is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the driving mat upon the line 4 of Figure 3.

ure 5 is a fragmentary view looking at the under face or" the driving mat.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken transversely "ough the driving mat upon the line 6-5 of ore l.

. ure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view upon an enlarged scale showing the upper portion of the tee turned downwardly to a folded position.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the target.

driving mats laid outin opposite directions so.

that two teams of two partners each, or two persons playing against each other may drive the balls back and forth between the driving mats and their companion target's. It will be understood that if one person is-playing' the game it is only necessary to use one driving mat and target and that onlyone mat and target are necessary ii two persons are playing the game, but two driving mats and targetsmay be used for convenience if so desired.

The driving mat is formed as shown in Figures 3 through 7 and consistsof a boardtformed ofplywood or other suitable material which is of light weight, very tough, anclinot liable to warp orcrack. This board is thinpreferably not more than one half an inch. thick, and for a portion of its length. is reduced in' thickness from its front end to provide a reduced portion or shelf T extending the full Width of the mat. An

opening. 8 is formed through the-board midway the width thereofi'and zis located partially through the rear'portion of't'he shelf and partially through the front end'of the-thicker portion of the board. this opening is quite l'argezand within it is a cup-shapedfteefl which is formed of flexible material, such as rubber or the like. The cupshaped tee isof'su'ch height that it projects up wardly above the thicker portionor the board, and is circular in cross section and tapered towards its lower end". The bottom of the tee is thicker than other portions and the annular'wall is gradually reduced in thickness towards its upper edge so that it will be flexible and readily deflected when struck by the head of a golf club. This also allows the upper. end portion of the cup to be turned outwardly and downwardly back. upon itselii to the foldedposition shown in Fig ure 7 and thus disposed below the plane of the upper surface of: the board when the driving mat is not in use. Inaddition,.the size or the opening.

relative to the diameter of the tee is such that whena ball. and thetee are struck while driving the ball. off the tee; the: tee may collapse into the opening; instead of'being: caught between the club head: and the front edge of. the opening and cut to bits. Damage to the tee will thus be avoided. The thick bottom of the tee is formed with a centrally located opening through which is passed the shank l l of a fastener l2, and upon referring to Figures 4 and 7 it will be seen that the shank of the fastener also passes through a metal strip I3 and is formed with a head 14 at its lower end. This strip or plate I3 is of appreciably less width than the diameter of the opening 3 and extends longitudinally of the board midway the width thereof and for a portion of its length fits into a recess [5 where it is secured by screws [6. The depth of the seat or recess [5 is such that heads of the rivet and the screws will be prevented from scratching a floor if the game is played indoors.

The target is substantially circular, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and consists of companion sections or strips H which may be formed of thin sheet material such as cardboard or other material of similar thickness. These strips have ends. Adjoining ends of the strips i? are connected with each other by tapes I9 which serve as hinges and are so applied to the strips that when the game apparatus is not in use the circular target may be first folded across a diameter to a semi-circular shape of double thickness and the strips then folded back and forth against each other and the target thus reduced to a compact stack.

When this game apparatus is in use a target is placed upon the ground and the driving mat placed upon the ground any distance desired from the target, preferably about twenty-two paces. If two sets are being used the two targets are placed at opposite ends of the playing held and the driving mats each set at rest upon the ground opposite its companion target. Each player uses three balls, the balls used by one player being preferably white and the balls used by the other player being of a contrasting color, such as red. The first player places a ball upon the cup-shaped tee and then stands in a natural position at a side of the driving mat and hits the ball with a golf club in the same manner in which a golf ball is driven from a tee in a regular game of golf. Since the upper portion of the wall of the cup-shaped tee is thin, it instantly collapses transversely into the large hole in which it is mounted when the club head drives through as it hits the ball and then returns to its normally upright position. As the tee is large at its top it will firmly support either a regulation golf ball or a featherweight Pee Gee Bee practice ball. After the first ball comes to a stop the other two balls are driven from the driving mat towards the target. The fact that the tee is mounted at the inner end of the reduced forward portion 1 of the board 5 allows the club head to swing freely through its natural path, barely touching the mat and carrying on to a full power follow-through without damage to the mat or the head of the club. Therefore, the club may be used in the usual manner in which the club head follows a path that is slightly lower immediately after impact with the ball and during which movement a club head takes a clean little shaving of grass or a shallow divot of turf. The driving mat is therefore of such formation that a natural stance and stroke may be used, but a lawn will be protected from damage and also a polished floor if the game is being played indoors. After the first player has driven his three balls towards the target the second player does likewise and a score is obtained by the .4 closeness of the six balls to the target. Since the targets are formed of very thin strips the balls may easily roll across them and into or out of the target area. The best ball of the six counts for score. If a ball has come to a stop within the target it counts two points and if the balls are all outside the target the one closest to the target counts one for score. If each player has one ball in the target zone there is no score as there is no best ball, but if one player has two balls in the target zone, and the other player only one ball, the player who placed two balls in the target has a best ball and obtains a score of two points. When nine points have been made the game is won. Driving of the balls from the driving mat towards the companion target is repeated until one player obtains the winning score. When teams of two partners each are playing the partners of each team stand at opposite ends of the playing field and two sets of driving mats and targets are used so that the balls may be driven back and forth towards each other by the partners. The losing player or team drives first when a second drive or return drive is made and he may place the driving mat in any position and at any distance he desires from the target. The other player drives from the same position. If it is desired to allow one player a handicap this may be done by having his best ball which rolls into the target count two points and the best ball of the opposing player only count one point whether inside or outside the target. When an additional handicap is desired the better player counts only his best ball, if it is best of all of the six balls, but his opponent may be allowed to score all of his balls which are better than the best ball of the more skillful player.

In order that the target may be readily seen the strips from which it is formed each have one side painted white so that it will be clearly seen when placed on grass, the other sides of the strips being painted black or any other color desired which may be clearly seen when placed on sand or other ground free of grass. By forming the target and the driving mat of wood they will float and the game may be used as a water game. When the apparatus is not in use the two targets of the set are folded and placed upon the driving mat in transverse spaced relation to each other with the six balls between. them and the entire apparatus then slid into a transparent waterproof bag where they will be protected from damage until again needed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A golf practice apparatus including an annular target adapted to rest fiat upon the ground and comprising a plurality of thin fiat strips of sheet material of appreciably greater width than thickness and of greater length than width and having unobstructed upper and lower surfaces, said strips each having inner and outer side edges and diagonally extending edges at opposite ends converging towards its inner side edge, said strips being disposed in end to end relation to other with the diagonal end edges of eac. in parallel relation to end edges of adjoining strips and thereby causing the strips to follow circular path and form the annular target, and hinge members connecting both ends of strip with adjacent ends of adjoining strips and consisting of fabric strips having intermediate portions extending longitudinally between the strips of sheet material and their end portions overlapping end portions of the strips of sheet material and firmly secured against fiat surfaces thereof and thereby mounting said strips of sheet material for movement from a folded position in stacked reIation one upon another to extended target-forming position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 6 i Name Date Garrison Nov. 10, 1914 Wiedersheim Apr. 13, 1915 Midgley Jan. 19, 1932 Gauntlett Aug. 21, 1934 Clarke Feb. 18, 1936 Lutes Dec. 28, 1937 Everett July 4, 1939 Clarke May 16, 1950 

